Home is Where the Heart Is
by KimiEvenStar
Summary: Two best friends fall victim to an unexpected death. One of them, Kimberly, is forced to face Middle Earth on her own. This is a world she'd only read in books and watched in movies. She doesn't remember life without her best friend, Allison, in it. She's not a warrior or hero. She doesn't believe in love. What happens when she ties a close bond to one of the Fellowship members?
1. Prologue: The Beginning

**An: I own nothing of Lord of the Rings. R&R please and thank you.**

Prologue

_Allison Sanchez was her best friend._

Kimberly Heartland could see nothing but darkness, but she could taste her impending death on her lips. The physical pain didn't even compare to the brokenness of her heart. She was convinced that the sweet whispers in her ears were the angels, comforting her soul on its way to home. A gasp rumbled deep in her chest as she felt someone carrying her.

She hadn't been ready to say goodbye, not on what was supposed to be a joyous day of laughter and excitement. Every year, her and her best friend, Allison, would go to Fear Fest at Kings Island. It was a mutual decision to ride Flight of Fear. If only she'd known the ride would be her and Ali's undoing. Of all the selfish wishes she'd had, she wished she could have hugged her best friend one last time. Was it too much to ask for to be with the person who'd changed her life for the better? Was it fair for death to separate them in this very way? It was true that the universe worked in cruel ways.

_Allison was the only soul that knew what was real in her heart._

She'd never imagined dying so young in her freshman year of college. There were so many opportunities and people that she'd never get back because of death. She'd never rest again in the comfort of her parents' arms. She'd never get a college degree. She'd never walk down the aisle. She'd never expand her lineage. She'd be nothing but a body buried in a box in the ground. In a hundred years, she wouldn't be remembered, and she'd only be seen as another tombstone in a graveyard.

_Allison was her better half._

Allison was more than just her best friend. Ali had been the person who'd stuck by her side through the happy and tough times. Her best friend hadn't judged Kimi's dorkiness when it came to all things Lord of the Rings. The two practically shared everything, especially books. Both of them had been book worms, always borrowing books from one another. She and Ali had inhabited the same dorm room. The two always confided in one other. However, there were secrets the two had never told one another. Those secrets would be carried to their graves.

_This was goodbye._

Shock filled her body as she opened her eyes and saw her surroundings. The only name that left her lips was. "Ali?"


	2. Author's Note

Dear Readers,

This will be my only (chapter) author's note in this whole story so bear with me. I previously wrote this story, and I deleted it. I've made due to my promise, however, that I have not given up on this story. It's being re-written in the justice that Kimi and Ali deserve as my main two characters.

Ali and Kimi are just so real in my head. The chapters won't always come out fast, and there may be times where I disappear. I am currently a college student, so sometimes I don't have time. I will NOT give up.

My writing won't be perfect, and I'll try my best to keep each and every character in character. Kimi and Ali aren't perfect in any way. They're just as human as you and I.

I am working on out lining chapter one. I have a time gap in between my biology class, so maybe that'll give me time to think and write.

Hopefully the first official chapter will be out within a month.

Truly yours,

KimiEvenStar


	3. Chapter One: Beginning of an Era

**AN: I own nothing of LOTR, and make note that this is all movie-verse. This is also not a rushed-romance. It'll be taken slow. **

Chapter One: Beginning of a new Era

Over two weeks ago, Kimberly had been one hundred percent certain that she'd died and ended up in some strange heaven.  
Instead, she'd found herself face to face in a world that she'd only ever seen in movies and read in books. She had ended up in Middle Earth of all the places she could have dreamt of visiting. As she sat in her new bedroom in Rivendell, she stared at the door. She'd hardly left since she'd narrated her traumatic tale to Master Elrond, and a lot of her isolation was due to the scrutinizing looks she received from the other elves. She knew deep down inside that she didn't belong here. She could imagine that in the elves' eyes she was an intruder. Her presence was invasive and unwanted.

She pushed herself off the bed and wandered to an old, tattered trunk that sat in the corner of her bed chamber. She gingerly lifted the top, shuffling through a small amount of her possessions that had mysteriously been found next to her body when she had first been discovered. She lifted an item into her lap. She held an eight by ten frame that contained a picture of her and Ali when they'd graduated high school, and she didn't realize the tears that had started to roll down her face as she pulled the frame tightly to her chest. That day had been one of the happiest days of her life. "Why am I here?" She whispered to no one in particular. Why was she here? She hesitantly set the frame back in the trunk, closing it tightly shut.

Her feet made their way to the door as she peeked outside. This was a time of night when she knew most were retired in their beds, but she couldn't find it in herself to fall asleep tonight. This was the longest she'd been away from the safe haven of her real home. There was no mom or dad to reassure that everything was going to be alright. There was no best friend to hold her as she grieved. This was what true loneliness felt like. All the issues she'd had back in Cincinnati, Ohio were trivial compared to what she was going through on a daily basis.

She stepped out, walking along a path that led her to a bridge. She sat down in the middle, closing her eyes as she took several deep breaths. She used the sleeve of her hoodie sweater to wipe away any remaining tears, but there was no mask to disguise the redness in her eyes. When she opened her eyes, she found that she was not alone. She scrambled to get back up on her feet as she was met with a piercing pair of grey-blue eyes. There was a stream of water that ran under the bridge she stood on, and there was another, identical bridge that was parallel to the one she stood on. A shiver ran down her spine as she stared into the eyes of the man on the other bridge. She didn't detect anything but curiosity in the expression of the Ranger of the North, or as she knew him as Aragorn, son of Arathorn. She was surprised when she didn't pass out with shock. In her twenty years of life, she'd never felt anything so…..unreal. She should have anticipated the arrival of the Fellowship, especially since she knew the movies by heart.

Her mind was scrambled as she sort of gaped at him. With the distance between the two bridges, no words could be exchanged, but underneath all that wonder, she could also read a hint of suspicion in the way he watched her. She hadn't forgotten that Rivendell was practically home for the future King of Gondor.

_You are better than this._

Those were words that Allison had told her repeatedly in the past. It was difficult because sometimes she swore that her best friend was still with her somehow. She could still hear her best friend's voice that sounded so real.

She was the first to turn away, and she quietly prayed that he wouldn't approach her. She couldn't deal with anymore interrogation type questions, and re-hashing the nightmares pained her. She sat down once again, pulling her knees up to her chest as she mourned. One nightmare haunted her because of how vivid it had been. All of it had been from her point of view as an invisible lurker. She replayed every excruciating detail.

_It was a funeral. It wasn't just any funeral though. There were many familiar faces that included both of Kimberly's parents, but three faces stuck out to Kimberly as she observed. The Sanchez siblings were each placing a white rose on top of a grave. Those were Kimberly's favorite roses.  
_

_Allison, her older brother Ian, and her youngest sibling Hanna held hands after they'd dropped their flowers. Ali, who was the strongest person she'd ever known, looked like a wreck. Dark circles lingered under her tired eyes. She was deathly thin and pale, as if she had barely eaten. She was shaking as she let go of their hands, and she reached into her pocket to pull out a tiny notecard. She took a second to compose herself, straightening her posture as she walked to the front of the coffin. "I stayed up all night, trying to think of what I wanted to say. None of it would do any justice. Nothing will bring her back." The cold hard truth was difficult to admit. "However, what we can do is keep her legacy alive. She was a beautiful person on the inside and out, and she'd touched many hearts the short time that she was here. I was lucky to witness the good person that she was. What most will remember is how she always smiled, even when people tried to bring her down. She was such a happy person. She was more than everything I could have asked for in a best friend." Her hand flew to her heart, feeling the heartache tear her apart. "Overall, she was strong. She wasn't perfect. There's no such thing as perfection, but she came very close to it. She could view the world in a way I never truly understood. She was open-minded, always willing to hear whatever a person had to say. She was so very kind. Some thought of her as too quiet, but if you had taken the time to get to know her, you would have seen how very wrong that opinion was."_

"_I'll miss her every day. She feels so close, as if she were here with me right now." The tears escaped her eyes. "I'd like to think she'd be very proud of me, for finding the courage to stand up here. I can't say this is easy." She looked as if she'd collapse or crumple, and it was painful to watch. "She wasn't just my best friend. She was my person." _

_That was how she ended her speech. She walked away, needing to be alone because she couldn't watch her best friend being lowered in a box into the ground. Wouldn't it be cold and miserable to lie in dirt for eternity? She didn't want to remember her bff like that. She fell into the ground, burying her face in her hands. She felt like she couldn't breathe, and she wanted to cry and scream that life was so unfair. _

_Kimberly tried to embrace her best friend, but Ali couldn't hear, see, or feel her. "I'm right here, Ali. You aren't alone," she told her, sniffling as she attempted to hold her hand. _

She sometimes wished she'd died that night. Why had she been given a second chance at life? She knew it was all nothing but a dream. She didn't want to hold on to the feeble hope that Ali was alive and safe back at home. She dared to take a peek over her shoulder at the other bridge, but there was no one there anymore. She weakly stood up, taking an alternate path to her room.

There'd be no peaceful dreams for her tonight.

**~Chapters in the future will be longer. Review your thoughts. Please and thank you for reading! **


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